Rather than derail the "Recognition" thread, I thought it appropriate to start another on the reason why a motley collection of unfortunates were persuaded to allow a man to take them to one side and quietly assassinate them. These women may have been down on their luck but they were not stupid. They were middle-aged, savvy, streetwise women who, by the very nature of their 'work', had probably all survived violent encounters of one sort or another. Yet someone, somehow (even at the height of the Ripper scare), persuaded them to lower their guard to such an extent that they went with him willingly and placed themselves in circumstances where he was able to achieve his ghastly aims with little or no resistance.

Suggestions invited as to what sort of man would have been able to do this. Perhaps someone who was familiar to all of them. I'm suggesting (with no suspect in mind) someone like Steve Wright, the so-called "Ipswich Ripper" who used the services of the local prostitutes over a period of time and so gained their trust. My view is that, if there was a single "Jack the Ripper" entity, he was such a man - a regular - a man who had been a safe customer in the past and in whose company they therefore presumed, fatally, that they were completely safe.

Rather than derail the "Recognition" thread, I thought it appropriate to start another on the reason why a motley collection of unfortunates were persuaded to allow a man to take them to one side and quietly assassinate them. These women may have been down on their luck but they were not stupid. They were middle-aged, savvy, streetwise women who, by the very nature of their 'work', had probably all survived violent encounters of one sort or another. Yet someone, somehow (even at the height of the Ripper scare), persuaded them to lower their guard to such an extent that they went with him willingly and placed themselves in circumstances where he was able to achieve his ghastly aims with little or no resistance.

Suggestions invited as to what sort of man would have been able to do this. Perhaps someone who was familiar to all of them. I'm suggesting (with no suspect in mind) someone like Steve Wright, the so-called "Ipswich Ripper" who used the services of the local prostitutes over a period of time and so gained their trust. My view is that, if there was a single "Jack the Ripper" entity, he was such a man - a regular - a man who had been a safe customer in the past and in whose company they therefore presumed, fatally, that they were completely safe.

I'm inclined to go with the possibility that the killer was known to those street-women, as you suggest.
He was known to the area, he frequented it regularly, but he didn't have to live there.
Others have commented on his ability to avoid detection, that he knows the backstreets well, that he is able to blend in as he obviously must have been seen by someone, but he did not attract suspicion.

In my opinion, he was a familiar face, the women knew him, and as is often the case, was likely questioned by police at some point.

- desperation: the other option was homelessness
- drunkenness
- the killer appeared, outwardly, like a typical client of theirs
- the killer was a regular client they were comfortable with
- the killer was an ambush predator and simply needed the women to pass through a secluded area alone
- given the number of prostitutes in the east end, and the number of previous prostitute murders, the Ripper murders did not significantly raise the risk of being murdered on the job, and prostitutes responded rationally by not really modifying their behavior

I do think the killer would have seemed "normal" upon first interaction. I favor a sane Ripper because I believe the evidence points to somebody who knew that what he was doing was wrong (by societal standards at least) and took steps to conceal themselves and not leave evidence.

I believe he was a local, looked inoffensive and normal and blended in. And after all most of these women had to eat and get a bed for the night. Most didn't have relatives in other district they could stay with for weeks at a time, and how long the murder spree would go on for, nobody knew.

Sugden quotes Dew as being amazed at the hardiness of Whitechapel prostitutes. He remembered after the murders if they ventured out at all 'it was in terror-stricken groups'. Then time would pass and there would be no more murders and the groups would dwindle to pairs and then to sole streetwalkers. Dew recalled the black humour of some of them who would call out as the passed him "I'm the next for Jack!"

I've always believed that the Killer was cunning and left little if anything to chance. He must have known the area very well and I believe planned the attacks to allow him a number of escape routes. Save the generally accepted sightings of him, if indeed they were of him, his meticulous planning certainly paid off. If the victims went willingly to their slaughter, which apparently they did, then he must have been know to them and was trusted or his 'appearance' made him, in their minds, trustworthy. I think the killer will be identified, at some point, and the puzzle perhaps won't be as hard as we've imagined.

I've always believed that the Killer was cunning and left little if anything to chance. He must have known the area very well and I believe planned the attacks to allow him a number of escape routes.

Dutfield's Yard seems like a bad match for that idea.
If he wanted an easy escape, he only has one exit.
There is the benefit of there only being one entrance to worry about.
But if he knew the area, he must have been prepared to make a high energy escape by scaling into multiple backyards.

Quote:

If the victims went willingly to their slaughter, which apparently they did, then he must have been know to them and was trusted or his 'appearance' made him, in their minds, trustworthy.

Except they were probably extremely drunk, they were definitely extremely desperate.

If you've led hundreds of men into dark alleys over the years and come out of it okay, you probably feel like you can take anything to come your way, and you probably think the majority of the time nothing much unexpected happens.

My assumption is they probably didn't wait around for a long time, every time, to build up trust and probably relied on gut instinct and experience.

- desperation: the other option was homelessness
- drunkenness
- the killer appeared, outwardly, like a typical client of theirs
- the killer was a regular client they were comfortable with
- the killer was an ambush predator and simply needed the women to pass through a secluded area alone
- given the number of prostitutes in the east end, and the number of previous prostitute murders, the Ripper murders did not significantly raise the risk of being murdered on the job, and prostitutes responded rationally by not really modifying their behavior

I do think the killer would have seemed "normal" upon first interaction. I favor a sane Ripper because I believe the evidence points to somebody who knew that what he was doing was wrong (by societal standards at least) and took steps to conceal themselves and not leave evidence.

Thanks Damaso,

I like some of these, especially the notion that he was a regular punter with whom they felt comfortable. I'm hesitant to endorse the drunkenness idea though. Some of them may have been under the influence to some extent, but not all. Chapman probably gave the impression of being tipsy when she was more likely tired/ill. Eddowes had pretty much sobered up by the time that Hutt released her and didn't have time to add much to her earlier consumption, even if she had access to any. As so many of the unfortunates were partial to drink I'm drawn to the notion of a distillery carman - especially someone like the one who trained as a butcher, whom I mentioned some time ago on another thread.

I like some of these, especially the notion that he was a regular punter with whom they felt comfortable. I'm hesitant to endorse the drunkenness idea though. Some of them may have been under the influence to some extent, but not all. Chapman probably gave the impression of being tipsy when she was more likely tired/ill. Eddowes had pretty much sobered up by the time that Hutt released her and didn't have time to add much to her earlier consumption, even if she had access to any. As so many of the unfortunates were partial to drink I'm drawn to the notion of a distillery carman - especially someone like the one who trained as a butcher, whom I mentioned some time ago on another thread.

Hi, Bridewell,
Do you have a specific named distillery carman in mind?